Paper Example on Contributions of Females During and After the First and the Second World Wars

Abstract

War is caused by human greed and depravity. Since time immemorial, the societal defense was strictly done by males. As human populations increased, more advanced defense mechanisms evolved. Humans made tools from materials in their immediate environment. Medieval man-made and used stone tools and weapons.

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Human settlements led to the emergence of complex social, economic and political institutions with defined roles. The political organizations-maintained law and order in the society. Later on, military institutions evolved and significantly advanced in terms of effectiveness, weapons and the army's organizational structures.

Women were viewed as physically weak and were barred from military missions for many years. In the U.S, women were socially and politically hindered from engaging in war operations. Initially, women participated in wars disguised as men. The contributions of NGO`S and human rights groups led to the end of military gender discrimination. Females henceforth were freely deployed in the armed forces and had equal status with their comrades in arms.

This paper analyses the contributions of females during and after the First and the Second World Wars, problems encountered by the female soldiers in their missions and the future role of women in the military.

Introduction

Gender inclusivity is a controversial topic in the public domain and the military circles. For hundreds of years, the military field was males' profession and used to be dominated by men. The socio-cultural and political establishments segregated females from military operations. (Barker 2014) After the end of the Second World War in 1945, most nations started recruiting women in the armed forces. The British government formed the women's Royal Army Corps in 1949, though, the wing was not awarded full military duties and functions as the combat roles were solely restricted to men (Paige 2014). The women performed technical assistance and secretarial works such as course instructors, medical personnel, laundresses, and flight attendants signal technicians, welfare officers, cooks, secretaries, statute officers, and drivers

The early female soldiers performed support staff roles (Lincoln 2016). The duties and responsibilities of the initial women conscripts were basically aimed at keeping front-line soldiers healthy for them to perform their roles satisfactorily. The females were in most circumstances married to the soldiers. They supported their husbands by acting as cooks, nurses and carried out washing and cleaning duties. During the American Revolution of 1860s, women acted as assistants to their husbands and some were discontented with this role. Deporah Sampson, disguised as a man named Robert Shurtleff, fought several British wars in the city of New York but was severely injured and finally detected to be a female. (De 2014).

The army officials led by General John Paterson awarded and discharged soldier Deporah. Afterward, she got a military pension from the government. Dr. Mary Walker was the pioneer female surgeon to serve in the American Army and worked during the American Civil War. Dr. Walker won the prestigious American Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest American military award. (Barker 2014).

Women in World War One

Following the success of women in previous major wars, world nations were determined to enlist the services of female soldiers during World War One though they were not enlisted in combat operations. By 1918, 30,000 females had joined the war, and hundreds died (Blank 2014). During the First World War, many females worked as support staff in the armies of their respective countries. Initially, they joined the armed forces disguised as men later found in medical facilities either wounded or dead. At times, females were formally admitted by the army commanders. Many women were promoted to higher ranks. Russia is historically recorded to recruit the highest number of female militants during world war one. Russians recognized the role of women in the war through awarding them higher ranks. For example, the Light Calvary was commanded by a woman Colonel, Alexandra Kudasheva. Maria Bochkareva was promoted to NCO rank. During the Finish Civil of 1918 over 2000 female combatants were involved (De 2014).

Women in World War Two

By 1939 women had a lot of warfare training and experience hence during World War Two performed more technical roles such as mechanics, pilots, and administrative officers in addition to their prior traditional duties such as nursing, laundry and canteen caretakers. (Lynne, Barbara & Steffen 2015). Britain established uniformed military services for females in 1938. They were sent to factory work to manufacture the much-needed weapons and at times into the front-line operations. They handled sophisticated weapons such as anti-aircraft guns against German army airplanes and missiles. Fire control equipment was also under women control. It is worth noting that the female militants were not permitted to shoot the enemy soldiers as this was considered the male soldiers' obligation. The British government supported the role of women soldiers by awarding them higher military ranks (Barker 2014).

The U.S government led by President Harry Truman enacted regulations admitting women as full members of the armed forces with total career benefits (De 2014). However, the women soldiers were stationed in their home country with the major objective of freeing men to go to the battlefield in foreign lands. The servicewomen were also entitled to defend the country from enemy invasion. During combat and non-combat missions some women faced misfortunes of being injured, killed or captured by the enemy. Military data highlights that eighty-eight women were captured as Prisoners of war during World War Two (Barker 2014).

The National German Army, women, served in the navy, air force and army. Majority of the women served in the volunteer uniformed units, civil airspace defense, and others replaced men who perished as a result of war and wartime economy. They also assisted in operating the anti-air crafts that shot Allied Bombers. The Hitler government advocated for women purity in order for them to produce healthy children to fight during future wars. Military medical practitioners comprised of both males and females who were headed by the DRK under the Nazi agents who at times killed incapacitated persons. Women were at times war victims. The Germans are recorded to have massacred millions of Jews. One-third of those killed Jews were Jewish women (Lincoln 2016).

The Imperial Japanese Army sexually abused and molested thousands of women in Asia before, during and after the war. Research indicates that majority of the women came from the colonized lands such as Korea, China, and Burma while some originated from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The women were abducted from their residential areas or lured after promises of lucrative employment in well-paying jobs. The unfortunate ladies were then taken into army stations found in Japan, China, and the Philippines where they acted as sex slaves (De 2014).

In Australia, the male population declined, and the authorities turned to women who volunteered to join the various military wings. In Canada, the Canadian Women`s Army Corps was formed in 1941, and members served as communication equipment operators, ambulance drivers, messes attendants and other noble obligations. In Romania, women played a vital role in the Royal Romanian Air Force where they acted as pilots.

Role of Women After World Wars

The First and the Second World Wars greatly transformed the lives of the women soldiers. After the major world wars, women adopted the traditional roles of women of family life and got married or enjoined civil service jobs. Many females were unrecognized and left the military disillusioned and demoralized, unlike their male counterparts who were well catered for in terms of financial and moral support. The war efforts of the war heroines had a great impact on the organizational structures of the various armed forces. For example, the British government established permanent Women`s Voluntary Service authorized to engage in combat and non -combat missions. Women`s Voluntary Service is in existence even today.

After World Wars, many nations trained women and incorporated them into combat sections of the national armies. During the Ethiopian- Eritrea War of 1999 quarter of the soldiers were female

Militants (Lincoln 2016). Israel government enacted regulations governing female soldiers and made it compulsory for all physically fit single and married women without children to be conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1948. The Israel government amended the statutes which hitherto discriminated female combatants (Barker 2014). The provisions gave female equal military duties and functions with their counterparts and could now be admitted to the infantry sections, tanks crew, flight pilots, and armored units. Though all these changes are in Israel, the ratio of women in the Israel Defense Forces is low attributed to a number of factors notably higher risks of sexual abuse and molestation leading to low personal and military morale due to traumatization. The sexual violence norm is overcome through proper and adequate professional training on duties and responsibilities of male military personnel during sexual and non-sexual scenarios (De 2014).

Non-Governmental Organizations and other human rights groups in the 1970s were advocating for gender equality, and the armed forces had to follow suit due to public demand (De 2014). The U.S authorities enacted legislation allowing women war veterans to benefit from Veterans benefits. Various national army units started admitting female recruits in the 1970s. In 1975 the American authorities opened the first female military academies for women to pursue higher educational opportunities and turn to army officers. The U.S mariners and the American air force started admitting women cadets. The navy units were led by the Royal Norwegian Navy which admitted the first troop of female personnel to work in the submarines in 1985.

Historically, America legalized flying fighter planes by women and also permitted them to serve in sea combat operations (Lincoln 2016). Other nations which allow women ground combats include Canada, New Zealand, Israel, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and France. Later, in 1993, the Congress allowed women to serve in the U.S Navy combat ships and could act as Air Jet pilots. Afterward, in 1995, the American government appointed the first submarine captain. To have both males and females working in the submarines necessitates the need for segregating accommodation amenities which is very costly. In 2004, Colonel Linda McTague became the first female commander of a fighter squadron. In 2012, the first female was officially attached to the U.S submarine.

The opening of all military positions, units, and occupations to women in 2013 was a great milestone in the history of American armed forces (De 2014). Women were free to serve in any military mission previously reserved for males notably as Army Rangers, Tank drivers, Marine Corps, Air-Force Par jumpers and serve in other special elite force units s...